As you know by now, I like a good challenge. I am one of those weirdos who actually keeps a bucket list. I'm very much a "Why not?" person when it comes to trying new things (except jumping out of planes. Planes are my chosen form of transportation, people.)

My friend-author-philosopher-hero Jon mentioned to me that he was going to read 50 books and watch 50 movies in the coming year.

Are you kidding me? Are you crazy? Who has that kind of time?

Wait... I want in too.

And then I thought of a few friends I thought would enjoy it -- so we set to creating the Fifty Fifty challenge. And guess what, you're invited.

On the FiftyFifty.me website, we each offered a post about why we were doing this. Jon said he was doing it because he needs to read more. He's always reading! But, as per his post, he confessed that he doesn't finish everything he starts, and he tends to read a lot of articles instead of full books. He also confesses to having a spreadsheet about what books he's reading, but that's neither here nor there.

The thing is, everyone has their own reason for taking a challenge on. Maybe you're bored. Maybe you want cheaper entertainment. Maybe you feel guilty about all those books you bought. Maybe you have way too much time on your hands. Maybe you have insomnia. Maybe you need something to make you feel better about how many hours you spend watching E!

If something in you is inspired to join us, I hope you'll drop by the fiftyfifty.me website, add your name to the list, and skim the "rules". Introduce yourself, start prepping your list (or, don't make a list at all and see where the year takes you). Tell your friends, make them hold you to it. [For a bonus round, seal your deal with this handy little app we made. <---- shameless plug by author]

FiftyFifty.me -- a mob of people, all doing the same thing. But here's the clincher- you don't even have to leave your couch! (I know, that sold me too)

Now, I didn't say it would be easy. Even though they'd take less time, I envision myself rushing on the film side in December 2012. I am having repeated visions of someone opening my apartment door to find me holed up a la Howard Hughes, watching movie after movie in a desperate attempt to catch up before the deadline. Either way, it will be fun.

Once upon a time there was a girl who read everything she said she wanted to read and watched every movie that had been recommended to her. And she lived happily ever after, or something like that.

See, it's really all about setting intentions.

Whenever people walk into my home for the first time, they say "Wow, you have so many books." There are books stacked on my kitchen counter, in stacks in my bedroom, laying by the fireplace, exploding from 2 bookshelves. There is barely enough room for everything I want to read in my life - literally (oh, the puns!). So this is the year I'm going to do it.

One day when I was being a snob and talking about how I always prefer to read, a friend stopped me and pointed out that books and films are important counterparts. The bookworm in me was horrified, but quickly realized she's right; you probably don't have a completely fulfilled cultural life if you're engaging in one and not the other. It's about finding the right movies to watch; just like it's about the books that keep you up at night.

I'm looking forward to using this challenge to inspire myself to knock things off my list that have been there forever. To finish my favorite author Milan Kundera's bibliography. To lie around and take in classic films I'm ashamed not to have seen yet (Auntie Mame and Sunset Blvd come to mind). To blow through celeb bios that I have yet to prioritize the time to read (David Hasselhoff, I'm on my way!) To read some of the classics I have never touched. To watch Gladiator and Braveheart so I can stop giving blank looks to men who refer to them constantly.

More than the challenge to myself, I'm looking forward to hearing and learning about what other people (you!) are reading and watching, 50 times over, rinse and repeat. Basically I'm in it to see what happens when we devote a year to driving ourselves absolutely berzerk trying to get it done. Let the intellectual experiments begin...